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Why am I getting nitrite spikes after a water change?

hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
This happened again this weekend. I have a 30-gallon, set up for two months, with two established filters, lightly stocked and lightly fed. I test every morning for nitrite and it's zero. I did a water change this weekend, about 25 percent. I added more than enough Prime. I did not shut off any of the filters (there are actually three on this tank, big time over kill). I had no nitrites before the water change, between 0 and .25 afterward. Later that day and into the evening, it continued to rise, eventually getting to .5 and even 1 ppm. I did massive water changes and ran out to get a bottle of Dr. Tim's (seriously, this stuff works) and within several hours, the nitrite was down. By evening it was 0 and 0 again this morning. Ammonia was always 0. Tap water tests at 0. Using a relatively new API reagent test, repeated several times to compensate for any user error. I'm now afraid to do water changes. What the heck is going on??? BTW, fish did not show distress, so if I had not been testing regularly, it would have gone unnoticed.

A second question, after a few hours, if I leave the test tube out the color indicating measureable nitrite i.e. light purple, fades back to baby blue. Why is that???
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Have you tested your water out of the tap? Maybe you naturally have nitrites in the water and it takes that time for your bio filters to convert it.
 
YSS

YSS

Members
That is very strange. Is this what happened to your african tank? May be something, like detritus or something like that, is being stirred up during water change? So, no rise in nitrite after the massive water change? I am stumped.
 
mscichlid

mscichlid

Founder
What dechlorinator do you use? Do you have gravel that is 3" or more deep and is distured when you refill?
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
I did not even shut the filters off never mind open them or clean them! Filters are flowing generously (all three of them) so there doesn't appear to be any clogging.

I use Prime (and plenty of it).

I did not even vaccum the substrate for fear of disturbing bacteria.

I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing with this tank is at all related to what killed my peacock/hap tank in October. Both are mysteries, I guess...

Obviously, I'm not doing water changes for a while. I plan to do very, very small ones i.e. 10 percent at a time for the future.

BTW, I check twice a day (before each meal) and nitrites have been 0 since adding the Dr. Tim's last weekend. (Thank God!)
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I think the nitrites coming from your substrate from NOT vacuuming it. In my tanks with substrate I vacuum every week...

Matt
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

Global Moderators
Dr. Tim's is the "new" Bio Spira. It's a live bacteria culture used to establish your bacteria bed quickly and safely.
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
Off the top of my head, I believe the bottle is good for 6 months unrefrigerated and 1 year in the refrig. I know Andrew thinks I've a bit obsessive, but I keep a bottle on hand at all times just for emergencies.

Matt -- I chose NOT to vaccum substrate in order not to disturb fragile bacteria . . . Not sure why not vaccuming would cause a nitrIte spike. Could see where it might cause high nitrAtes, but they have not been a problem. BTW -- all the Vics are doing great. The girls are getting big!
 
SubMariner

SubMariner

Master Jedi & Past VP
1.) It could be the water from your Tap. Or maybe not.

2.) Your Ph Tester could be out dated or simply no good. Buy a new one...

3.) Your bacteria bed in both filters might have crashed for no reason. It happens...unexplainable casualties do occur, which can cause your Nitrites (purple color in your bottle tester) to go hay wire.

Plus the bacteria in your gravel could be dead too. If you have an extra tank with good bacteria in the gravel grab a handful of it and place it in the tank, but do it after you clean the gravel like Matt said. In other words remove the dead stuff and place a couple handfuls of live bacteria.

Clean one of your filters and leave the other one alone for now.
Buy the refrigerated bacteria and place it in the filter you just cleaned and in the tank or get some good bacteria from another tank if possible.

Finally, take an Aspirin and call me in the morning;)

Good Luck,

Richard
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
There's bacteria all over the tank, not just in the gravel. I keep very little gravel / sand in my tanks to make them easier to clean.

Does the tank register some nitrAte? That means the bio filter is working...

I wouldn't fear vacuuming the gravel killing your nitrifying bacteria. I would fear dirty gravel becoming a problem, especially over time.

Matt
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
Yes, I have measureable nitAte.

All test kits have been verified against results in other tanks and tap.

I don't really think there is a good explanation for my experience. I should note that I don't have nitrIte now, nor have I since adding a bottle of Dr. Tim's. And yes, because I'm a nut I test twice a day, before each feeding! :)

I'm just going to be very careful with water changes in the future and do them very sparingly while my bacteria culture gets a good firm hold on the tank!
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
Dear Lord, this problems is continuing.

I did water changes this weekend. TINY water changes. No filters were shut off or even opened. Did: three gallons on a 30 gallon; five on a 58 gallon. I did NOT vaccuum the substrate. I even had the water sitting out overnight. It was liberally dosed with Prime. I had NO measureable nitrite before the change (and neither did the tap). A few hours later, in the 30 gallon, I have measureable nitrite -- less than .25 as it was darker blue but not purplish at all. Fish were not in any distress.

Later that evening, I went upstairs and the fish in my 58 planted tank were seriously in distress -- panting heavily at the waterline. (Thank God I got there in time.) I had about the same amount of nitrite in that tank. After about 30 minutes of major powerhead action to get the oxygen up, everyone was fine. I also added Prime directly. (Not sure why such a tiny amount of nitrite caused so much distress.)

WTF????????? The only thing I can think of is there must be a contaminant of some kind in the buckets I use for the fresh water and it's affecting the biological filter??? I'm getting new buckets and will be using Drink More water only for changes, but that's expensive in the long run.

No fish losses, but lots of panic and exasperation . . .
 
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